Cane and Perenara will bow out for the All Blacks as Capuozzo returns for Italy
New Zealand’s TJ Perenara takes part in a team run at The Lensbury Resort, Teddington, England, Friday Nov. 1, 2024. (John Walton/PA via AP)
TURIN, Italy (AP) — Retiring All Blacks Sam Cane and TJ Perenara will get to bow out in New Zealand’s last autumn rugby tour match against Italy on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Italy welcomed back fullback Ange Capuozzo after a head injury and made Juan Ignacio Brex captain in the absence of the injured Michele Lamaro.
Cane is starting in the back row in his 104th and last test since his 2012 debut, and Perenara will come off the bench for his 89th test since 2014.
New Zealand changed five on Thursday after losing to France 30-29 in Paris last weekend.
Cane’s return as the openside flanker for the concussed Samipeni Finau has forced Ardie Savea to No. 8 and Wallace Sititi to the blindside.
Loosehead prop Ethan de Groot makes his first appearance on the five-match tour after he missed out on playing Ireland for not meeting unspecified “internal standards.” Tamaiti Williams’ form kept him at loosehead against England and France but a neck injury made him unavailable this week.
Patrick Tuipulotu also rotates into the second row for Tupou Vaa’i.
In the two backline changes, center Jordie Barrett’s knee injury against France has seen him replaced by Anton Lienert-Brown, with David Havili coming onto the bench, and Mark Tele’a has recovered from a hand injury to reclaim the right wing from Sevu Reece.
“As our first ever match in Turin, our final match of the 2024 test season, and the farewell match for Sam and TJ, this will be a great occasion,” All Blacks coach Scott Robertson said. “We are determined to finish our season in a way that honors and celebrates the immense contribution that Sam and TJ have made to the black jersey.”
Lamaro was injured on Sunday in the second minute of Italy’s narrow 20-17 win against Georgia in Genoa. He injured the sternoclavicular joint in his left shoulder and left pectoral muscle.
Capuozzo suffered a head injury in the autumn-opening loss to Argentina and missed the Georgia game.
He’s recovered along with others whose bumps and bruises sidelined them from the Georgia game: Tighthead prop Marco Riccioni, lock Federico Ruzza and scrumhalf Martin Page-Relo.
Hooker Gianmarmo Lucchesi has rotated in and Manuel Zuliani starts in the back row after replacing Lamaro against Georgia.
Fourteen Italians were in the 23 that last faced New Zealand 14 months ago in the Rugby World Cup in Lyon. The All Blacks won 96-17.
___
Lineups:
Italy: Ange Capuozzo, Jacopo Trulla, Juan Ignacio Brex (captain), Tommaso Menoncello, Monty Ioane, Paolo Garbisi, Martin Page-Relo; Ross Vintcent, Manuel Zuliani, Sebastian Negri, Dino Lamb, Federico Ruzza, Marco Riccioni, Gianmarmo Lucchesi, Danilo Fischetti. Reserves: Giacomo Nicotera, Mirco Spagnolo, Simone Ferrari, Niccolò Cannone, Alessandro Izekor, Alessandro Garbisi, Leonardo Marin, Marco Zanon.
New Zealand: Will Jordan, Mark Tele’a, Rieko Ioane, Anton Lienert-Brown, Caleb Clarke, Beauden Barrett, Cam Roigard; Ardie Savea, Sam Cane, Wallace Sititi, Patrick Tuipulotu, Scott Barrett (captain), Tyrel Lomax, Codie Taylor, Ethan de Groot. Reserves: Asafo Aumua, Ofa Tu’ungafasi, Fletcher Newell, Tupou Vaa’i, Peter Lakai, TJ Perenara, David Havili, Damian McKenzie.
___
AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby